


Meet Me Upstairs?

by its_mike_kapufty



Series: Rhink Ficlets [14]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Apologies, Betrayal, College, Drunken Kissing, First Kiss, Inspired By Until Dawn (Video Game), M/M, Pranks and Practical Jokes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-14 05:03:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18046013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/its_mike_kapufty/pseuds/its_mike_kapufty
Summary: Peer pressure is a hell of a thing, and Link just wants to be liked. Besides--pranking Rhett sounds fun.





	Meet Me Upstairs?

**Author's Note:**

> Don't be fooled: this is 100% the intro to the horror game Until Dawn, but rewritten for Rhink and there's no cannibalism. 👍
> 
> Thank you, [B](https://archiveofourown.org/users/analog08/pseuds/analog08), for your help on this!

When Rhett slinks away through the crowd and bumping music in search of the bathroom, the last thing Link expects is to be swamped by a gaggle of friends who pounce on his solitude like vultures coming to pick clean remains.

Actually, ‘friends’ is too strong a word. Sure, Link _knows_ all of them, but the connections are distant; Rhett goes to class with the host, and they’re on good terms. This is the host’s cabin, the _host’s_ friends. Link just toddled along after Rhett as he usually did to stuff like this--somewhere in between a security blanket and victim of peer pressure.

The group of five party-goers fall all over Link with coos too sweet for their standing with him. They give him a fresh beer-- _t_ _hat makes four_ , Link tries to keep track--and put their arms around him. Tense, he shifts, uncomfortable under the sudden attention and wondering what he could’ve possibly done to earn it.

The redhead on his arm-- _what was her name, Hannah?_ \--leans in and presses a poorly-coordinated finger to Link’s nose, buttoning it as he winces.

“Linkyyy,” she sings before resting her head on his shoulder. He knows he’s giving her a wild look of discomfort, but apparently he doesn’t care. Neither does anyone else. “You’re so cool. Hang out with us more.”

“Yeah, bro,” tosses in a buzz cut brunette who’s so drunk Link can’t see the whites of his eyes. _Lenny, maybe?_ Name tags should be required at all big gatherings like this. “You and Rhett are seriously rad guys. Like, I see y’all walkin’ on campus sometimes, and you have this energy around you like--people wanna be your friends, you know? S’magnetic.”

Words are slurred as the other four sing agreement. They’re making Link anxious, but he has the wherewithal to keep in mind their inebriation and the fact that they’re currently complimenting him. He shoves down the nagging thought to tell them to give him space and instead summons his own sloppiness, nodding.

“Sure, y’all. We can be friends. Love makin’ new friends.” He doesn’t know why he says it--it’s not technically true, but he’s pretty buzzed, so fuck it. “Y’all seem cool too.”

“We’re _so glad_ you think so, because Jodie actually had the _best_ idea.” This girl’s name was Hannah, right? Link had to triple down his focus to pay attention to what she said next and not fixate on her name. “But we need your help to pull it off.”

“What’d’you have in mind?” slurs Link, eyeing the solo cup they gave him before taking a long drink.

“A prank,” the redhead supplies readily, beaming like she’s just won the lottery.

“It’s gonna be so good,” someone else squeaks in excitement, and that’s enough to get Link into the spirit of things. Even sober he could hardly tamp down the giddy mischief and rush of impulse that came with pulling jokes on others. Hell, it was part of what he and Rhett _lived_ for.

“Hell yeah,” Link nodded, earning thrilled titters from the group as they looked at one another in celebration. “Whatcha need my help for, though? S’five of you already.” Link counts again just to be sure, not trusting his addled brain.

“‘Cause we wanna prank _Rhett,”_ maybe-Lenny says, and everyone waits with bated breath for Link’s response.

He squints around at each of them, curious. Rhett must’ve been a lot closer with the people at this party than he’d let on--probably had played down how many folks he knew to make Link feel better about only having him in the cabin. Even after fifteen years of friendship, Link had never had the opportunity to get Rhett good before. The thought of taking that swollen ego down a peg or two brought a smile to his lips, and he was imagining the look on Rhett’s face--the mad grin of _just you wait_ \--when probably-Hannah shakes his shoulder.

 _“Yeah?_ You in? He’s smilin’!”

“I’m in,” nods Link, and the group dissolves into clapping and cries of success. “What do I hafta do?”

“That’s the best part,” potentially-Hannah giggles, leaning in conspiratorially. “Nothin’. You just have to stand there and look pretty!”

Link snorts, head bobbing back to look at her with a bemused smile. _“What?”_ He’s sloshed some beer on his hand and wipes it off carelessly.

“Heeere’s what we’re gonna do,” she lowers her voice, pressing her temple to Link’s to speak to him too close and too drunk. “So, we wrote a note--from you, to Rhett, asking for him to meet you in the master bedroom. We’re gonna slip it to him… maybe in his empty cup or under the bathroom door or get someone else to do it, I’unno--”

“He’s gonna know it’s not my handwriting,” Link interjects, but pseudonym-Hannah shushes him.

“No way, he’s drunk, he won’t overthink it! But anyway, then he’ll _come up there_ and see you waiting, and we’ll all gonna jump out and surprise him when he thinks you’re alone!”

Link blinks rapidly, trying to wrap his head around what exactly the joke was. “S’like a... surprise party?”

“You can think of it like that,” she murmurs, nodding. “And _you’re_ the bait.”

“Why?” Link isn’t able to unfurrow his brow. It’s stuck in a position of stupid confusion.

“Are you kiddin’? He’s attached to you at the hip! This is the first time we’ve been able to get you alone all night!” Link’s-gonna-call-her-Hannah shoves a nailed finger into his side to tickle him, but more than anything it hurts as he squirms away. “We’re gonna get him so good! We even got a camera, to record it!”

Link doesn’t understand, and doesn’t think he will no matter how much she tries to explain it, so he relents and nods, shrugging. “Fine. Let’s do it.”

“Awesome!”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Twenty minutes later, Link is somehow in a luxurious bedroom lined with artisan-crafted wooden furniture and a bed with a quilt on it that’s so inviting, it makes him drowsy just looking at it. He stands in the center of the room, facing the door, where was-it-Lenny is peering out down the hall. Link shuffles, kicking his shoes together in boredom as the rest of the group hides. Two crawl under the bed, two get into the closet with the camera and leave the door cracked, and code-name-Lenny is planning on hiding between the dresser and the wall once he sees Rhett.

Link misses his drink--had it taken away before he was swept upstairs by everyone.

“Sit down on the end of the bed!” a voice hisses to Link, and he can see no reason why not, so he does.

“Here he comes,” rasps fuck-it-it’s-Lenny, who dives to his spot just as Rhett pushes the door to the spacious bedroom open.

“Link?”

“Hey, Rhett.” Link smiles, clasping his hands in his lap. He suddenly realizes how stupid all of this is--in his best friend’s presence again, it’s all so juvenile and unformed. After they left together, Link would be sure to catch him up on all of the details of this so-called ‘gotcha,’ and they would daydream up a million better ones they could’ve done together.

“I, uh. Got your note.” Rhett steps into the room and shuts the door behind him, leaning back against it.

“Thanks for coming up here,” Link offers. He’s ready for the others to pop out of hiding. Any second now. When he’s left to improvise on the spot, Link clears his throat and looks at the floor. “I didn’t think you would.” It wasn’t a lie. They must’ve done a decent job of keeping the handwriting neutral, if Rhett believed it.

“Are you serious?”

The question is strangely off-putting and lands heavy between them. Link glances around, trying to roll with it and guess as to what he should say. As to what the _note_ said. “Deadly.”

Link can’t process what’s happening in time before Rhett’s crossed the room and stopped just in front of him-- _close._ All he can do is look up, counting down over and over in his head to the big reveal that never happens no matter how many times he hits zero.

“I do, too,” Rhett says, and leans down and kisses Link without warning.

There are a lot of words Link wishes he _could’ve_ used to describe how Rhett pushed their mouths together: soft, reserved, sober. But none of those apply as the blonde shoves Link down onto the mattress, exploring his mouth with a tongue wet from drink. He’s heavy. He crushes Link down onto the bed, hands on Link’s neck and fingers in his hair to feast on him like a starving man, and it rips the breath from Link.

He doesn’t know what’s happening, but he doesn’t need to be under the influence to acknowledge that the only thing _wrong_ with this situation at its face is that they aren’t alone.

 _“Rhett,”_ he begs, voice locking up, wanting to warn him and send him away before the inevitable happens. But the whine reaches the older one’s ears as encouragement, and he smiles, dropping his mouth to Link’s throat.

Rhett’s words are honey drizzled over Link’s heart. “God. Can’t believe it’s finally happenin’. Wanted you so long, bo.”

 _“Holy shit,”_ comes a high voice from the closet. Rhett freezes. Pulls back.

Link watches in terror as Rhett stares into space. Eyes wide, his gaze drags down to Link, terrified and on the brink of a hurt so deep Link knows he won’t recover from it. That _they_ might not recover from it.

“Let me explain,” Link fumbles out, barely heard over the laughter and hoots and hollers that erupt from the edges of the room and under the bed.

Rhett jumps to his feet, the note slipping from his pocket as he glances around wildly like cornered prey. He can’t speak, and Link knows it.

 _“Nice, Rhett,”_ one of the spectators cries, and he backs up to the door, shoulders rising and falling in silent panting. Link isn’t sure he’s ever been so viscerally sorry so instantly. He pulls himself to a stand, holding out his hands to soothe Rhett and keep him from panicking or punching anyone or _something._

“Rhett, wait, _please,”_ Link spills out, anything to keep this from ending poorly. But when those green eyes meet his again, they’re the sharpest they’ve ever been and they cleave Link’s heart in two.

_“Oh my god, did we get all of that? We got all of that, right?”_

_“I need a copy of that tape!”_

Rhett falters, looks sick as his hand blindly finds the knob behind him and he stumbles back out into the hall, the perfect picture of injury. Blood boiling yet heart struggling to pump ice water, Link wants to tear everyone in the room a new asshole--to leave them bleeding and covered in bruises for ruining so much more than a first kiss he’d fantasized about--but first and foremost comes Rhett. He stoops down to snatch up the note, unfolding it and reading.

_R-_

_Too nervous to say this to your face._  
_Enough is enough._  
_Meet me upstairs?_  
I want you.

 _-L_  


Stomach tossing, Link rips the note in half with an anguished grunt and takes off after Rhett, dirty sneakers pounding on the hardwood floor in an attempt to catch up with him. When he gets to the banister, he hears the front door slam through the music, and doesn’t hesitate. He tears through the party-goers. Some of them laugh at his abandon--like they knew. Like everyone had known.

He doesn’t bother shutting the front door behind him as he jumps and lands heavy on the gravel leading to the porch. _“Rhett!”_ The call isn’t any good, but he locks eyes on the giant storming away towards the line of cars parked in the grass. He takes off at a sprint, hair wild and chest heaving with adrenaline. He knows he’s faster, but he definitely isn’t stronger, and he doesn’t know what will happen if he catches up to him. “Rhett! Wait!”

To Link’s horror, Rhett fishes his keys from his pocket and unlocks his car, ignoring Link with a ferocity that makes his gut twist.

The car door shuts as Link slams into it, ripping it back open, but Rhett wrestles to close it again, staring straight ahead through the windshield, lips pressed thin. Link throws his entire weight into the action and pries himself between the door and the car cabin, gasping for air. “Rhett, wait, please!”

Rhett stares daggers into the steering wheel, nostrils flared. Quiet.

“You… you can’t drive,” Link points out, doubling over onto his knees. He might vomit. “You’re drunk.” The way Rhett’s fisted knuckles turn white in his lap pushes Link to continue, to address the real issue, “I am so, _so_ sorry, Rhett. Honestly, I--I had no idea what they wrote on that note! They came to me and said they had a prank, and wanted me to be in on it. I thought they were your friends!”

“I can relate,” snarls Rhett, lashing out again and trying to grab the door handle.

Link falls to his knees in the damp grass and grabs Rhett’s wrist, redirecting it, clamping it to his chest as Rhett tries to pull away. “You have to believe me! You really think I wanted our first kiss to be like _that?!_ With--with an audience and fuckin’ commentary? For it to be _ruined?!_ ”

“Link, let go of me.” The command is softer; there’s more pain there than there is anger, and Link shoves his foot into the opening.

“That’s not how I imagined it! I wanted it to be perfect, somewhere we were both comfortable and happy! Shit, I spent so much time telling myself the dorms weren’t good enough, but I should’ve just gone for it, it would’ve been heaven compared to what we just did--”

 _“You._ What _you_ just did,” points out Rhett, looking up at the felted ceiling. He blinks, and Link doesn’t think he can handle it--can’t handle Rhett on the verge of tears because of _him._

“I swear, I had no idea. Rhett, I’m so sorry. Please.” Link is grasping everywhere, hands on his wrists, forearms, shoulder. They finally settle on Rhett’s knee, where Link sinks and presses his forehead. “Please. Please don’t leave. Don’t endanger yourself because of something shitty I did, just-- _fuck,_ I’ll leave you alone, I’ll stay away as long as you want. Just don’t go home,” Link whispers, clutching Rhett’s pant leg. “Don’t leave without me.”

For a long while Rhett doesn’t say anything, and the crickets of the woods make up for the silence. They’re oddly calming and bring Link a sense of normalcy in this fucked up situation.

“I’m not drunk,” Rhett mumbles finally. “Haven’t had any beer. I’m fine to drive.”

Link can’t dam up the tears that slip down his cheeks as he nuzzles into Rhett’s jeans. “Please take me home. Please? Take us home. I’m so sorry.”

A long, withering breath. “Get in.”

Link stands, wobbly, and does as he’s told. He falls into the passenger seat beside Rhett and cries, shaking in grief and guilt. Engine rumbling, Rhett pulls them onto the back winding country roads leading to campus.

The windows are rolled down and blustery summer air beats their cheeks. Link can’t look at Rhett. He knows what he’ll find there, and couldn’t handle being subjected to the pain his actions have caused. Instead, he pulls his knees to his chest and buries his face in them.

When the car rolls to a stop and the engine cuts far sooner than it should have, he lifts his head. They’re pulled off the side of the road, facing a field of fireflies.

“What are we…?” Link’s voice cracks.

“I can’t believe you let them manipulate you like that. Against _me.”_ The statement is calm but taut, throbbing with hurt.

“I’m sorry,” says Link softly. It’s not enough, though. He doubts it will ever be enough.

“You really didn’t know?”

“Of course not.” Link swallows, rubbing the wet at his cheeks. “Rhett, I would never… you know I wouldn’t. You _have_ to know. Please know.”

“I… I think I do,” Rhett concedes, and for the first time Link steals a peek at him. His face is drawn, eyebrows furrowed in disquiet. “It still hurt though, Link.”

“I can’t even imagine.” Closing his eyes, Link lets himself return to the moment of realization. The betrayal, the uprooting of something that was meant to be _theirs,_ showcased like sport for others to eat up and giggle over. “I wish we’d been alone.”

“No fuckin’ kidding.”

“You… for what it’s worth,” Link sniffs, picking at his thumbnails, “I loved it. You, I mean, before… everything. You felt so good.”

Rhett clears his throat. “You did, too.”

“Can we, maybe… pretend that never happened? Rewrite it, somehow? It’s not like those people are going to be in our lives forever anyway,” offers Link, shrugging weakly. “We’ve been through plenty of schools together and faces have come and gone. Soon, no one will remember but us. And we can choose to forget.”

“Can we?” Rhett’s question is genuine. There’s no sadness, no anger.

“I want to.”

“Rewrite it…” he echoes in a hushed voice. “Link. Get out of the car.”

Link startles--imagines Rhett leaving him on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere--until Rhett’s climbing out himself, walking to the hood and beckoning. Link follows, unbuckling and stumbling to go stand by Rhett.

“What do you think?” asks Rhett, gesturing at the field of flickering fireflies. Link turns and takes it in: the ethereal beauty of it, the chirps of the crickets, the hoot of an owl somewhere in the distance.

“It’s gorgeous out here.”

“Good enough?”

Link squints at Rhett. “For what?”

“For our first kiss.”

Link doesn’t expect the tears that hit him, doesn’t want them as Rhett takes his cheeks in his hands and captures his mouth. Natural, forgiving, perfect-- _patient._ Rhett’s suddenly living in every one of Link’s senses: his warmth, his scent, the scratch of his beard on Link’s chin. Link sobs and Rhett catches him in his arms, pulling him into a hug.

“I’m sorry, Rhett.”

“I know you are. Everything’s gonna be okay.”

“Why are _you_ comforting _me?”_

“Cause you need me, right now. I needed you, earlier, even when I was mad at you. And you were there for me, even when I tried to leave. You stopped me from running away. Bowled over a house full of people to make sure.” Link kisses him again--pushes all of his love for him into the contact, hoping it pours into him and fills the place it needs. Rhett smiles into the affection, allowing himself to enjoy it for the first time in their lives.

“Was that better?” Rhett asks once they break. “I enjoyed that one.”

“Not better,” Link squeaks, feeling silly.

“No?”

“I’m crying.”

Rhett chuckles and guides Link to sit on the hood of his car. They sit down side by side and he drapes an arm over Link’s shoulders, “You also taste absolutely terrible.” Link’s head snaps up, indignant, before Rhett adds, “Like beer.”

 _“Oh, no.”_ Link pouts, eyebrows knitting in embarrassment. Apparently the sour tang isn’t enough to deter Rhett, who kisses the frown from his lips. In the haze of it, Link beams, warming at the unconditional affection. “You must really like me, then.”

“I do,” Rhett nods, running a hand through Link’s hair lovingly. “Don’t worry--we can keep having first kisses until we both like the story.”


End file.
